Oates makes the point to strike again at Corfield

By Jordan Gerrans

The annual Corfield meeting holds a special place in the mind of Longreach’s Mark Oates and the bush horseman was thrilled to claim the 125th edition of the Cup with one of his absolute stable favourites.

The Corfield Amateur Race Club celebrated a significant milestone on Saturday when they hosted their 125^th anniversary meeting.

Corfield is based in the North West racing district of the Sunshine State and borders both the Central West and Leichardt regions, which helps draw in participants from right across Queensland.

The meeting is always a popular one for regional trainers and jockeys as well as the hundreds of punters who descend on the bush facility for the meeting.

Following Strike Point’s victory in the Cup of 2024 on Saturday, Longreach trainer Oates is now a five-time winner of the feature event.

The respected conditioner won the race as a jockey in his teenage years before weight got the best of him and he stepped away from the riding ranks.

Oates recalls first going to the Corfield races as a 15-year-old jockey all those years ago and now at 56 years of age, it is still as important as ever to head to the dirt track.   

The Longreach trainer rode at the track as a professional jockey and in the days when they held amateur meetings as well.

“It is a great area, it is a strong club with beautiful people and they love their racing,” Oates said.

“It is a great little club and they appreciate us taking our horses there. The crowd is huge there every year and the fields are always big.

“The track is in good condition and that is why I went there with Kenny (Strike Point); he needs a little cushion in the track.

“The track is always presented well; the committee do a great job.”

The Corfield club hosted a six-race card for their special anniversary meeting.

Corfield president Jack Brodie said the club was honoured to be able to host the landmark event.

“It is a milestone event, but it is no different to every other event,” Brodie said.

“We made it a bit more special – there was a few families who came back that haven’t been in the district over the last 20 to 30 years.

“There was a fair few people there that others haven’t seen in a while.

“It was a good weekend to reminisce and have a good time at the races.”

Those that attended the Corfield races remarked that the club boasted great volunteer numbers while the track and facilities were also turned out in super order.

The Corfield Cup has long been a non-TAB race Oates has targeted with his team and he was overjoyed to win the race with one of his ‘children’.

The Central West trainer has two sons – Liam and Shaun – but will often joke he has three children, which includes Strike Point, who he refers to as ‘Kenny’.

Now seven years of age, the gelding did not debut until he was a four-year-old.

The son of Al Maher has done all his racing for Oates and is now a 10-time winner from 33 efforts.

Oates’ son Liam took Kenny to the races on Saturday while the trainer took another crop of horses to Tambo.

“Strike Point is like one of the kids, really,” the Central West trainer said.

“I often say to people that I have three kids, Liam, Shaun and Kenny (Strike Point).

“A good friend of mine bought him as a weanling and we have had him ever since, he did not start racing since he was four years of age.

“He has taken a long time to mature, he is one of those types of horses but he has ability. We love him, really.”

Strike Point overcame a wide gate and 61.5kgs to score under the riding of Mount Isa rider Jason Hoopert.

Strike Point is on a Longreach Cup path with his ‘grand final’ in late September.

The local Longreach Cup is a race Oates has had success in with Van Winkel claiming the 2021 edition of the regional feature.

“He has had a few little issues and only had four starts in the last eight months,” the top bush trainer said of Strike Point.

“I was confident the horse would run well at Corfield but he is only 80 per cent fit at the moment.

“He is headed towards the Longreach Cup at the moment, that is the race I want to win.

“The Corfield race was just a pathway on the way to Longreach. 'Hoops' rode the horse beautifully and the horse hung on.”

The Oates yard are in the planning stages of a Country Stampede and Country Cups Challenge raid with a few different gallopers from the stable set to target qualifiers in the back end of 2024.